Everyday Adventures for Young Readers: Diary Fiction and Illustrated Chapter Books

The Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #9), by Jeff Kinney
Everyone’s favorite wimpy kid, Greg Heffley, is heading off on a road trip with his family—and any reader who loves the Heffleys knows disaster can’t be far behind. Whether it’s a pack of rogue seagulls or a fender bender, this family trip will be full of exciting incidents…and it may well turn out to be an adventure they’ll never forget.

I Funny: A Middle School Story, by James Patterson
Middle schooler Jamie Grimm is determined to win the Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic contest, the first stop on his way to becoming the greatest comedian on the planet—and he won’t let his wheelchair, his evil cousin, or the sad events of his past stop him. With the help of a wisecracking uncle and his own never-flagging sense of humor, Jamie knows his dreams will come true, even if not everybody is ready to accept a “sit-down comic.” Loads of cheeky illustrations will help your young bookworm fly through these pages.

Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life (Dork Diaries #1), by Rachel Renee Russell
In book one of the beloved Dork Diaries series, we meet brand-new eighth-grader Nikki Maxwell, who dishes in her diary about mean girls, crushes, her new best friends, and going head to head with her mom in an effort to snag an iPhone. The pages of her journal overflow with doodles, funny observations, and stories of life in the not-yet-popular crowd. Kids will laugh, cringe, and commiserate with Nikki’s trials.

Rise of the Balloon Goons (Notebook of Doom #1), by Troy Cummings
Alexander is the new kid in town when he stumbles upon a notebook with one sinister word written across its cover: DOOM. Turns out he’s found a secret guidebook to the monsters that creep and slither around his new home—which he must vanquish with the help of the Notebook of Doom. In his first adventure, the monsters look all too familiar: “balloon goons,” resembling the flapping balloon men that advertise car dealerships. This book will draw your favorite reader in with funny illustrations, eerie adventures, and a well-drawn central friendship.

Stick Dog, by Tom Watson
Watson breaks the fourth wall in this effervescent story about a badly drawn dog’s search for the perfect burger, speaking directly to readers on such topics as his terrible art skills and the rarity of a bicycle-riding pooch. Stick Dog’s lighthearted quest is made even funnier by Watson’s hilarious digressions and, of course, by the rudimentary black-and-white sketches that accompany them.

Wonkenstein (The Creature from My Closet #1), by Obert Skye
If you’ve ever worried something alive will one day crawl out of the junk in your favorite kid’s messy bedroom, we prescribe this clever series, in which a creature emerges out of a pile of unread books in a dirty closet and creeps into reluctant reader Rob’s life. Named “Wonkenstein” because he appears to be a cross between the characters Willy Wonka and Frankenstein, the strange little critter turns Rob’s world upside-down…but he may also be Rob’s best chance at discovering the magic of a good book.

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (Timmy Failure #1), by Stephan Pastis
Timmy Failure aspires to greatness, though he’s his own worst enemy when it comes to achieving it. Dreams of becoming a world-class detective dance through his head when he starts detective agency Total Failure alongside his partner-in-crimebusting, a silent polar bear named Total. Timmy couldn’t solve his way out of a paper bag, but it sure is fun watching him attempt to crack his classmates’ cases. Will Timmy become a successful detective? Will he defeat his nemesis, Corrina Corrina? Is Total an actual polar bear or a figment of Timmy’s imagination? Your child will race through this book’s comically illustrated pages to discover the answers.

My Life as a Book, by Janet Tashjian
Eleven-year-old Derek’s got problems: he has to read not one but THREE books over summer break, he’s being sent to Learning Camp after creating havoc at his mom’s vet clinic, and he’s just discovered a mysterious newspaper clipping about a long-ago drowning that his parents refuse to talk about. Interspersed with this comic mystery tale are stick illustrations that double as vocab lessons, helping both Derek and his readers get a handle on what words can do.

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor: Book 1, by Jon Scieszka
Boy genius Frank Einstein is determined to invent a robot that will win him the Midville Science Prize, which includes enough money to save his grandpa’s fix-it shop. But when a freak lightning storm brings his robots Klink and Klank to life, he catches the eye of nefarious fellow genius T. Edison, who will stop at nothing to win the prize—even the theft of Einstein’s newly-minted antimatter motor. This rollicking read is chock full of science facts so interesting, your reader will barely notice she’s learning something new on every page.

The 13-Story Treehouse (Treehouse #1), by Andy Griffiths
What kid hasn’t dreamed of running away to live in a treehouse, where he makes the rules and nobody ever calls him to come inside and go to bed? Enter the 13-story treehouse, a place of wish fulfillment where you can while away your hours in the comic book library or the see-through pool, or enjoy the charms of a marshmallow machine and a self-making bed. Inside this magical place, author and illustrator Andy and Terry try to get their book written, but find it hard not to get distracted by, say, the vines just begging to be swung on. Terry’s illustrations and Andy’s funny text will make your young reader long to join them in their procrastinating fun.

Danger Is Everywhere: A Handbook for Avoiding Danger, by David O’Doherty
Enter the perilous world of Dr. Noel Zone, the world’s foremost/only dangerologist, in this hilarious book that advises kids on dodging unexpected dangers at every turn. Whether warning you about a friendly grandmother who’s actually a robot in disguise or a piano that turns out to be a walrus, this fully illustrated read imagines a world full of ridiculous adventure. It will have your kids laughing in the face of “danger.”
 
Shop all Kids’ books >